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Movies | Written by Andrew Pollard 23/01/2016

POPEYE Reboot Brings in a Writer

Remember that Popeye animated movie that’s been in development for a while now? Maybe, maybe not, right? Well the long-planned overhaul of the beloved favourite of yesteryear has brought in a new writer in the form of T.J. Fixman.

Fixman is best known for being one of the key minds behind the popular Ratchet and Clank video game series, and he’s also written the upcoming Ratchet and Clank movie that’s released later this year. Despite currently being without a director, Sony Pictures Animation is still fully focussed on bringing Popeye to the big screen once more.

Hotel Transylvania’s Genndy Tartakovsky was on board to helm Popeye for a long time, with it being his lifelong dream to work with the character. Sadly, Tartakovsky ended up leaving the project last year after some shake ups at Sony meant that the rejigged powers that be didn’t share the director’s vision. Before he left the film, however, Tartakovsky did release a demo reel for what he was looking to do with Popeye, although it remains to be seen what approach Sony will look to take with the movie in the future. In case you missed that demo footage, you can check it out in the player below:

The character of Popeye began life way back in 1929, created by E.C. Segar and appearing in Thimble Theater. By 1933, the spinach-chewing sailor would be headlining his own animated theatrical efforts before a TV cartoon series arrived in the 1960s. In 1980, Robin Williams would bring the character to life in Robert Altman’s live-action big screen Popeye movie that also featured Shelley Duvall as Oliva Oyl and Paul L. Smith as Bluto.

So, despite missing a director, it looks as if it’s still full sail ahead for Sony’s latest attempt to get Popeye off the ground. As ever, expect more on this as it develops.